Pots de Creme Recipe

Pots de Creme make an easy, elegant dessert, especially when entertaining. This simple recipe is absolutely scrumptious!

There is just something about Pots de Creme that makes my mouth water every single time I decide I’m going to make them. Rich, creamy, decadent and so simple to make that it seems like I forgot something when I pop them in the refrigerator!

Now, I have to tell you the truth, this is a dessert that I never heard either of my Grandmother’s or even my Mama talking about making as I was growing up. Of course we had chocolate custards and puddings that were very, very similar, but definitely not called pots de creme (pronounced poh duh KREHM with a little flair).

I made these a few years ago when we had guests over for supper. I pulled them out of the refrigerator where they’d been hanging out for the afternoon and topped them with whipped cream. Our friend asked me what was for dessert and I said, “I’ve made dark chocolate pots de creme. I knew you liked dark chocolate.”

To which he said, “you made poh duh what?”

Exactly.

I’m sure that’s why my Mama always just called it chocolate custard when we were growing up.

Whip the cream with the confectioner's sugar. If using the seeds from a vanilla bean, split the vanilla bean and scrape the beans with the side of a knife and add into the cream. If using vanilla bean paste, simply add to the paste and mix well.

Notes

Time does not include chilling times. Refrigerate for 2 hours, or until firm, prior to serving.

Sure! You can simply omit the espresso powder from the recipe if you do not like the coffee flavor. It does bring out the dark chocolate and smooth the flavors for me, but I completely understand some people do not care for it. You could also pump up the vanilla flavor by using vanilla bean paste or scraping an additional vanilla bean into the pots de creme. Other options would include using other flavorings, like a caramel, but you’d want to reduce the other liquid in the recipe to make sure the consistency turns out correctly. I can’t wait to hear how you personalize it! Be sure to let me know!